September 13th, Alliance Calendar, 2055.
Inside the room, the phone alarm rang. Cheng Tian was sleeping soundly, hugging his Froakie. Hearing the sound, Cheng Tian groggily opened his phone, shut off the alarm, and immediately fell back into a deep sleep.
Fifteen minutes later, Cheng Tian's mother kicked the door open, walked in, and yanked the blanket off Cheng Tian.
Cheng Tian and Froakie woke up with a start. "Get up now! Look at the time! Aren't you going to school?"
Cheng Tian looked—it was already 7:45! Class started at 8:00; he was going to be late!
He let out a wail, quickly got up, dressed, and packed his school bag. Running into the living room with Froakie, his father greeted them with a smile: "Morning, Tian, and Froakie."
"It's not morning anymore, I'm going to be late for school." Cheng Tian plopped down and began eating the breakfast that had already been prepared.
On the other side, Froakie also started eating at its own bowl. "Woof!" Yamper, who was nearly finished eating, raised its head and greeted them.
"Froakie." Froakie returned the greeting. Good morning.
After hurriedly finishing his meal, Cheng Tian took out a Great Ball and recalled Froakie. "I'm leaving." "Be careful on the road."
Cheng Tian unleashed the speed he used for his middle school 1000-meter P.E. exam and sprinted toward the school. Rushing all the way, he luckily managed to run inside just as the clock hit 7:55.
The student council member on duty frowned, checked the time, and seeing that it hadn't passed 7:55, decided to turn a blind eye and didn't make trouble for him.
Arriving in the classroom, he saw many students had already released the Pokémon they had obtained and were playing with them.
Not everyone had released their Pokémon; some students hadn't planned on enrolling in the Pokémon course, and others hadn't had time to buy a Pokémon yet. However, they all looked at the students with Pokémon with envy.
Meanwhile, Bai Yun was already surrounded by a crowd. Watching Bai Yun play with his Chimchar, everyone couldn't help but show signs of envy.
Very few people in the class could afford a starter Pokémon.
At that moment, Lin Lin suddenly called out, "Cheng Tian, you're here." Hearing that Cheng Tian had arrived, Bai Yun quickly walked over with Chimchar, and Lin Lin followed close behind.
Seeing Bai Yun approach with Chimchar, information about the Pokémon appeared in Cheng Tian's mind.
Pokémon: Chimchar
Gender: Male
Nature: Adamant
Ability: Iron Fist
Level: 8
Egg Moves: Thunder Punch (lv3), Fire Punch (lv3), Power-Up Punch (lv2)
Learned Moves: Leer (lv3), Ember (lv5), Scratch (lv2)
Tutor Moves: Focus Energy (lv3)
It truly showed that he was the young master of the Bai Group; the Chimchar Bai Yun's father got him was absolutely top-tier.
Was this the legendary power of cash?
Since Chimchar's final evolution, Infernape, is a physical attacker, the Adamant nature was the best choice. Plus, it had the hidden ability Iron Fist. Cheng Tian was genuinely envious.
"Ya-ka!" Chimchar raised a hand to greet Cheng Tian. Cheng Tian gently stroked Chimchar's head.
It was very warm.
"Hello, Chimchar," Bai Yun said cheerfully. "What do you think? This little guy is pretty good, right?"
Cheng Tian nodded. "Very cute."
Lin Lin raised her hand, grinning. "My turn, my turn! I have my Pokémon too!"
As if in response to her words, a little creature popped out of the hood of Lin Lin's hoodie, happily munching on a chestnut.
"Pach!" Pachirisu looked curiously at the two boys in front of it, but its mouth didn't stop moving. Its two little cheeks were adorably puffed out.
But Cheng Tian was not fooled by its appearance. He knew that this little thing in front of him was Pachirisu, famously known as the "White Devil."
Cheng Tian had a deep impression of this Pokémon. In his past life, when playing Pokémon, this creature had given him a lot of trouble with its combination of Follow Me and Protect.
Pokémon: Pachirisu
Gender: Female
Nature: Naughty
Ability: Volt Absorb
Level: 8
Egg Moves: Defense Curl (lv3), Follow Me (lv4), Fake Tears (lv4), Covet (lv3)
Learned Moves: Growl (lv5), Thundershock (lv2), Quick Attack (lv2), Charm (lv5)
Tutor Moves: Charge (lv2)
Seeing that both of them had released their Pokémon, Cheng Tian also let out Froakie.
"Froakie!" "Ya-ka!" Froakie and Chimchar started communicating. The two little guys were very polite upon meeting, even shaking hands.
"Pach." Seeing Froakie appear, Pachirisu jumped out of Lin Lin's hoodie hood. It rummaged in its fluffy white tail for a long time, then took out a chestnut and offered it to Froakie. "Pach."
"Froakie." Froakie accepted it. After thinking for a moment, it pulled off a clump of the foam from its neck and handed it to Pachirisu.
Pachirisu played with the foam in its hand curiously. It was sticky and quite interesting.
"Ya-ka." Seeing Pachirisu give Froakie a chestnut, Chimchar cried out, indicating that it wanted one too. But Pachirisu turned its head away and ignored it, only playing with the foam in its hand. "Ya-ka." Chimchar looked a little wronged. Seeing this, Froakie condensed a cone of water from its hand. *Snap*. It used the Cut move to slice the chestnut in half and handed one half to Chimchar.
"Ya-ka!" Chimchar was very happy.
Seeing the three little guys getting along well, Cheng Tian nodded in satisfaction.
Lin Lin's eyes were sparkling. "Ah! It's Froakie! Cheng Tian, you're amazing! You actually managed to catch a Froakie."
"Just good luck," Cheng Tian replied.
Just then, the class bell rang, and the homeroom teacher walked in.
The students quickly returned to their seats. The homeroom teacher saw the excited expressions of the students and the Pokémon next to some of them, and he began: "It seems many of you have already prepared your Pokémon. I hope you can all get along well. However, I must remind you that during class time, it is best to recall your Pokémon so as not to disrupt the lesson."
Hearing this, everyone started taking out their Poké Balls and recalling their Pokémon. Cheng Tian was no exception.
The homeroom teacher nodded in satisfaction. "Now, regarding the upcoming examination for those enrolled in the Pokémon course, I hope everyone prepares thoroughly."
"This exam will be divided into a written test and a practical battle component. The written test score will account for 50% of the total, and the practical battle score will be multiplied by 3.75 times. The sum of these two will be your final grade."
Hearing about the practical battle, the students below became noisy. Some students looked worried, wondering what to do if their Pokémon weren't good at fighting.
"Quiet down, quiet down!" The homeroom teacher restored order, and the classroom quieted. He then continued, "Because many people signed up for the Pokémon course this time, only half of those who registered will be admitted."
"Students whose Pokémon are not skilled in battle, or who themselves are inexperienced in battling, must put serious effort into the written test."
After finishing his announcement, the homeroom teacher started the regular lesson. However, the students below clearly weren't paying much attention, and faint whispers continued throughout the entire class.
Cheng Tian wasn't too worried about the practical battle component. Froakie had extensive battle experience, and with himself as the Trainer, defeating opponents shouldn't be a problem.
The focus was on the written test. Since they were enrolling in the Pokémon course, it wouldn't make sense for them to be tested on things like Literature, Physics, Chemistry, or Biology, right?
Therefore, the test should focus on Pokémon knowledge. Although Cheng Tian prided himself on knowing a lot about Pokémon, it was impossible for him to flawlessly recall the information, abilities, and moves of every single species. So, he would need to review carefully over the next period.
The class quickly ended. When the bell rang, the students began talking loudly. But for some reason, Cheng Tian felt drowsy.
Since it was break time anyway, Cheng Tian decided to just lie down on his desk and sleep.
He slept deeply and soundly until the math teacher, with a dark expression, lifted Cheng Tian up during the next class.
"Cheng Tian, tell me exactly what you were dreaming about?" the math teacher asked angrily. Cheng Tian could only mumble meekly. "You, your math scores are at the bottom of the class, and you're still sleeping during lessons. If you don't fail, who will?"
Cheng Tian was notoriously bad at math; whether the questions were simple or difficult, he only ever scored around 20 points.
Cheng Tian grumbled internally: *You can't blame me for being bad at math. Seriously, in everyday life, who needs to construct coordinate functions just to figure out where the vegetable stall is when they go grocery shopping?*
Although he thought these absurd things, he didn't dare show it externally. He could only stand obediently for the entire class.
After class, Bai Yun came over to chat. "You slept through math class again? You're something else. What were you doing last night?"
Cheng Tian retorted irritably, "I fell asleep during the break! Who knew I'd sleep right through the start of class? And seriously, why didn't you wake me up?"
Bai Yun naturally countered, "I saw you were sleeping so soundly, I couldn't bear to wake you."
Just as the two were talking, a sudden commotion erupted in the hallway, and many students rushed out of the classroom to see what was happening.
Lin Lin also returned from outside. "Bai Yun, Cheng Tian, hurry and come look! There's a transfer student."
Hearing this, Cheng Tian interrupted their conversation. "Let's go, let's take a look."
The hallway was already packed with people. The three of them decided to take a detour, go up one floor, and watch what was happening from a better vantage point there.
When the three climbed up, they saw a beautiful girl standing near the entrance of the class two doors down from theirs. In front of her, a teacher was respectfully conversing with a man.
The surrounding people were clearly drawn to the girl, admiring her beauty but not daring to approach.
"Holy cow, long black hair! Is she really that gorgeous!?" Bai Yun's eyes widened.
Lin Lin pouted in dissatisfaction. "What are you looking at? No matter how pretty she is, is she prettier than me?" However, Bai Yun ignored her.
Lin Lin angrily covered Bai Yun's eyes. "Don't look!"
"Hey, what are you doing! What's wrong with letting me look?" Bai Yun struggled. "I said you're not allowed to look!"
While the two were fooling around, Cheng Tian froze in place.
For no other reason than this girl was the same one who had helped him at the toll booth!
She was actually a transfer student???
At that moment, the girl surrounded by the crowd clearly sensed something. She looked up toward the floor where they were standing and saw that familiar face.
The girl was also stunned.
*It's him? He actually goes to school here?*
A brilliant smile curved the girl's lips.
Interesting~
Bai Yun finally broke free from Lin Lin and saw the scene. He looked at Cheng Tian suspiciously. "Hey, A Tian, why do I feel like that girl is looking at you?"
Lin Lin also nodded in agreement. "She really does seem to be looking at Cheng Tian."
Cheng Tian explained helplessly, "You might not believe this, but when I was coming back from catching Froakie over the weekend, I ran into this girl at the toll booth, and she was the one who helped me open the barrier."
Bai Yun and Lin Lin looked thoughtful. "So that's what happened."
Cheng Tian was surprised. "You guys actually believe me?"
Bai Yun looked entirely justified. "Of course we believe you. To be honest, given the way you look, if you hadn't already met, I wouldn't believe that girl would be attracted to you." Lin Lin nodded emphatically.
Cheng Tian was furious. "What's wrong with the way I look? Don't I look better than you!" As he spoke, he raised his fist, ready to hit Bai Yun.
"Hehehe, slow down there. Getting too angry is bad for your health."
While the three were messing around, the class bell rang again. The students in the hallway reluctantly, turning their heads every few steps, slowly returned to their classrooms.
Cheng Tian and his friends were no exception. As they walked down from the upper floor back to their classroom, they got a closer look at the girl.
Cheng Tian was walking last. Just before he entered the classroom, he suddenly saw the girl turn her head and seemingly say three words to him.
Cheng Tian's pupils dilated, and he froze instantly. He only snapped out of it when the teacher reminded him from inside, and he quickly walked in.
Sitting down at his desk, Cheng Tian was restless.
*The girl just now seemed to say... so cute... Holy crap, what am I thinking? I'm not some delusional, overly confident weirdo!* Cheng Tian quickly shook his head, despising his own recent thought. Still, he remained distracted throughout the rest of the class.
When class ended, Bai Yun went out for a walk and came back excitedly telling Cheng Tian and Lin Lin, "I went around and asked. That girl seems to be named Su Han. She transferred from Shanghai City!"
Lin Lin looked confused. "Why would she transfer from Shanghai City? Isn't that place better than here?"
Bai Yun shrugged. "How would I know? But look at the way that teacher was treating the man—so deferential. She must have a significant background. She might even be a rich young miss."
...